middle-ear deafness
- noun
- /ˈmɪdəl ˌɪr ˈdɛf.nəs/
- Specialized
- Surgery is sometimes recommended to help restore hearing in patients with middle-ear deafness.
Examples
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He was diagnosed with middle-ear deafness last year.
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Many children suffer from middle-ear deafness at a young age.
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Children born with certain bone disorders are at higher risk for middle-ear deafness.
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The doctor diagnosed him with middle-ear deafness after examining his hearing test results.
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Children born with certain bone disorders are at higher risk for middle-ear deafness.
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Surgery is sometimes recommended to help restore hearing in patients with middle-ear deafness.
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The doctor diagnosed him with middle-ear deafness after examining his hearing test results.
Synonyms
14
2.7
A condition in which you cannot hear well in one or both ears
9
2.7
A condition in which a person cannot hear well or at all
2
3.9
Partial or total loss of the ability to hear
1
4.1
Sound cannot pass through the middle ear to reach the inner ear, causing hearing loss
Hearing loss from a problem in the middle ear that stops sound reaching the inner ear
A partial loss of hearing that makes sounds quieter
Antonyms
How Damaging
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
9.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
middle-ear + deafness
The term is compositional: 'deafness' (inability to hear) modified by 'middle-ear' (relating to the middle part of the ear), so a learner who knows the constituents will infer hearing loss located in the middle ear. This anatomical/medical compound follows regular English compounding and has direct equivalents in many languages, making its meaning predictable for B1 learners.
Etymology
Middle-ear deafness comes from a simple, physical image: tiny bones in the middle of the ear carry sound to the inner ear, and if those bones do not work the sound cannot pass. So middle-ear deafness means a 'hearing loss' caused by problems with the ear's middle bones.